Rise of The Virel Absolute Revenge Cultivation

"Hold him! Don't let the murderer escape!"

The shout cut through the harp music that had just begun to play melodiously in the main hall of the Virel residence. Arka froze; his silver wine glass clattered to the marble floor, spilling red liquid that seeped into the expensive carpet like a fresh bloodstain.

"What is the meaning of this? Captain Jarek, this is my wedding anniversary celebration! What is the meaning of all these weapons?" Arka stared at the line of guards who usually bowed to him, now pointing spearheads at his chest.

"Don't play dumb, Traitor!" Kael, his brother-in-law, stepped forward from behind the line of soldiers. His face was puffy, crocodile tears streaming down his cheeks, but his eyes emitted a very different glint. "I saw it... I saw you pulling that dagger from my sister's chest in the back pavilion!"

"Kael? What are you talking about? Elara is in her room; she's getting ready for our first dance!" Arka tried to step forward, but the tip of Jarek's spear pressed against the skin of his neck, forcing Arka to look up.

"Liar!" Kael screamed hysterically, his voice echoing throughout the room, drawing horrified whispers from the noble guests. "Look at his hands! Look at that blood! You didn't even have time to clean it before coming back here to pretend to be a loyal husband!"

Arka looked down. His heart seemed to stop beating when he saw his own palms. A thick, dark red liquid coated his skin, dripping slowly from his fingertips. When? How could this be? He only remembered drinking a glass of wine Kael had given him a few minutes ago, and then everything felt blurry.

"This isn't... Kael, listen to me, someone is framing me! Jarek, you've known me since I was a child; you know I could never hurt Elara!"

Jarek remained unmoved, his eyes cold as ice. "Physical evidence does not lie, Lord Arka. And the Virel family dagger was found beside Lady Elara's lifeless body."

"No... it's impossible. Elara..." Arka felt his world collapse. His wife's name felt like a thorn in his throat. "Let me see her! Move!"

"Stay where you are, Murderer!" An old man in a black robe with the emblem of the high judge stepped into the circle. "Based on eyewitness testimony and the evidence found, Arka Virel, you are found guilty of the premeditated murder of your own wife and treason against the noble family alliance."

"Without a trial? Without an investigation?" Arka lunged forward with exploding rage, but iron chains suddenly wrapped around his wrists, pulled by two strong soldiers. "Kael! Tell them the truth! You know I love Elara more than my own life!"

Kael approached, standing only inches from Arka's face. He leaned in, ensuring his voice was only heard by the man in chains. "It's true that you love her, Arka. But I love your position more. And the Volkov Family... they love what is inside your wife's blood even more."

Arka's eyes widened. "You... you're working with the Volkovs? You sold out your own sister?"

"I didn't sell her," Kael whispered with a terrifying, thin smirk. "I only traded her for a brighter future. Goodbye, Brother-in-law."

"You bastard! I'll kill you! Kael!" Arka's scream was drowned out as a blow from a sword hilt landed on the back of his neck, making his vision go dark instantly.

When Arka regained consciousness, he was no longer in the warm hall. A thunderstorm drenched his body, which was clad only in a thin, torn shirt. He was being dragged across rocky ground toward the edge of a cliff known as the 'Graveyard of Traitors.' The stench of death and dense black energy wafted from the giant pit.

"Wake up, Arka. Don't die before you reach the bottom," Jarek mocked, kicking Arka's ribs until the man coughed up blood.

"Why, Jarek? How much did they pay you?" Arka asked in a hoarse voice, staring at his former best friend with the shattered remains of hope.

"It's not about the money, Arka. It's about survival. The Virels are finished tonight. The Volkovs are the new rulers," Jarek replied without regret.

They reached the edge of the abyss. Kael was already waiting there, holding a black umbrella, looking at Arka as if the man were nothing more than trash to be discarded. Below, the darkness seemed to have a life of its own, churning as it waited for new prey.

"Any last words before you become fertilizer for the bones down there?" Kael asked, his voice nearly drowned out by the roar of the wind and thunder.

"Where is Elara? Tell me she's still alive, Kael!" Arka screamed, tears mixed with rain wetting his battered face.

Kael laughed softly, a sound very foreign to Arka. "She's alive, for now. As a vessel. You should be grateful, Arka. Thanks to your 'death,' she will become something far greater than just a boring noble's wife."

"You monster..."

"And you are history." Kael signaled to the guards. "Push him."

"Kael! I swear! By every drop of Elara's blood, I will return! I will skin you alive!" Arka struggled with desperate strength, but a hard kick from Jarek landed squarely on his chest, breaking his ribs and pushing him over the edge.

The world seemed to stop spinning as gravity pulled Arka into the mouth of darkness. He saw Kael's triumphantly smiling face above, growing smaller and more distant. The wind sliced his skin, and the pain from his wounds began to go numb from the extreme cold.

God, if You exist... don't let me die like this, Arka thought as his body hit a sharp rock wall, tearing the flesh of his arm to the bone. I need strength. I need vengeance.

Just before his body hit the bone-filled floor, a faint red light flickered before his eyes. A cold, emotionless, and ancient-sounding voice echoed directly within his soul.

Conditions Met: Absolute betrayal detected.

Subject's despair has reached the maximum threshold.

Activating Absolute Cultivation System: Vengeance Mode...

Are you willing to trade your humanity for unrivaled power?

Arka felt his spine hit a pile of skulls with a sickening thud. His consciousness began to fade, but the hatred in his chest burned brighter than any sun. Anything... give me anything to destroy them!

Contract Accepted. Initiating Integration of the Avenger Demon Bloodline.

Arka's vision turned blood-red as a pain millions of times more intense than his physical wounds began to burn every cell in his body. He no longer screamed. He only stared at the darkness above, realizing that the gentle Arka Virel had died at the bottom of this abyss. And something else, something far more terrifying, was crawling awake from that pile of corpses.